Atlas's POV
School was becoming increasingly demanding lately. Our English teacher had assigned us a book that seemed nearly impossible to locate. I'd spent two days calling every bookstore in the city until I finally tracked down the last copy at a mall across town. With the teacher's warned test approaching, I couldn't risk getting a zero, so I made the long trip to secure that elusive book.
Since I was already at the mall, I decided to browse around after purchasing my book. I headed straight to the bookstore first—even though I had reserved it, I didn't trust that my copy would still be waiting. With the book safely tucked in my bag, I strolled through the food court when I spotted a familiar face. Aunt Jade was sitting at a café nearby, chatting with someone.
"Aunt Jade! What a coincidence!" I approached their table, noticing she was with a younger woman who, despite being attractive, had something off-putting about her appearance.
